I’ve been saying that for years. The integration between Yamaha hardware and Steinberg software has never been more than an afterthought (and I’m pretty sure it’s not Steinberg’s fault.) Time for things to change radically.
yeh the library is pretty cool, but when you think a vast majority of say, early 90’s-00’s hip-hop rnb were built from motif sounds, just starting to see small parts of that kind of quality library being introduced.
just wouldn’t mind a 10gb of CLASSIC motif sounds built in…
I would like to know if steinberg/yamaha are planing to release a keyboard controller in the next months, because the ones on the market are pretty disappointing quality wise.
I would love to have an insight from them, I could wait a few month if I knew something is being preparee. But I dońt want to wait in vain.
The yamaha kx series seems good though, but i think it´s discontinued.
Wait for January and if they have something new, it’ll be at NAMM. I seriously doubt it though. I have the impression that Yamaha doesn’t want to compete in a such a crowded market racing to the bottom (you can find a decent 61-key controller for as little as $100 nowadays, if you don’t mind the lack of aftertouch…)
The KX88 was a monster that weighted a ton and the initial version couldn’t transmit any velocity higher than 100 (the first DX7’s to hit the market had the same problem.) That was 30 years ago, of course.
yeah good point to wait until NAMM. I was about to get a Roland A300 Pro, but I’m not sure it’s compatible with cubase…
As for controllers Yamaha/SB have released the CMC series and the CC121, so why not a keyboard?
I’m hoping that the next generation YAMAHA Keyboard workstation (after their Motif line) will offer great surface-controller integration and functionality with Cubase 7.5 and much more, but I wouldn’t mind having just a Keyboard controller, or a Pro-Quality Surface Control unit, that offers great Surface-Control functionality for Cubase 7.5, and other DAWs, plus offer knobs & faders to tweak VST Instruments/Effects parameters.
So far nothing new from YAMAHA/Steinberg. So maybe they will delight us at NAMM 2014.
I recently purchased a Nektar Panorama P6 - perfectly integrated with Cubase, Nuendo [& Reason], complete with a Motorized Fader, for those that may like that kind of thing.
Changes focus with you through VSTs, etc. You can even call up VSTs from it’s menu/display.
yes I was looking at the nektar panorama too. Looks really nice, it’s the kind of keyboard I’m looking for and the 49 keys version is “quite affordable”.
But I was wondering how well it’s integrated with Cubase because it has been primarly designed for Reason. When you select an audio or instrument channel in Cubase’s mixer does it appear in the keyboard automatically and you can control fader and Quick controls right away ?
Is it reliable, or did you find any bugs or drawbacks ?
This is not strictly true, but it is a perception I know is common. When the P4 was released initially, the only deep integration was with Reason 6 and as such, all videos/marketing materials were very Reason focused. However the integration is that deep and complete that many touted Panorama as dedicated Reason controller.
The same attention to detail was applied with Steinberg integration. There were new graphics and protocol extensions developed specifically for Cubase/Nuendo. So Nektar have approached integration with Steinberg software in the same way as we did with Reason and you can expect similar performance.
I tried one at NAMM last year. The action was nothing to write home about: standard synth “plasticky” action. Not what I’d expect from a $600 keyboard. I still think that the best solution would be to get a GREAT keyboard controller (like the Akai MPK88, which you can find online for as little as $600*) and then either CMC modules or a tablet controller like IC Pro. Or a combination of both.
That is the problem, no-one bought the KX series and reviewers tended to talk about it as “cubase only” even though it had support for a number of other DAW’s, I have one BTW, good for the price.
I think it is unlikely that we will see any more products like that simply due to sales and if people and in particular “consensus creators” like magazine reviewers and influential posters on the bigger web boards perceive a product with greater Cubase integration to be “Cubase only”, which makes marketing of the product to the general public more difficult